:: Australian Dollar: The Australian Dollar opens lower today at 0.8210 after another turbulent session. A positive lead from local equities helped to support the currency above US82 cents on Wednesday. There was very little reaction to yesterday’s construction data which rose 1.9 per cent to $39.475bio in the March quarter – well below market estimates of 4.0 per cent. During offshore trade, the Aussie rallied sharply above US83 cents as U.K. and European equities moved higher but the move was short-lived and the Aussie was sold heavily once again down to US82 cents after strong U.S. economic data supported the greenback.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.8120 to 0.8290

:: Great Britain Pound: Pound Sterling (1.4380) opens marginally lower today against the greenback. The currency was buoyed early in the session after a 2 per cent rally on U.K. equities however stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data released late in the session curtailed moves to the top side as the greenback strengthened across the board. In overnight trade, the pound moved between a high of 1.4447 and a low of 1.4329. Meanwhile, the pound is stronger against both the Australian Dollar (1.7500) and the New Zealand Dollar (2.1695).

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.7450 to 1.7560

:: New Zealand Dollar: The New Zealand Dollar opens lower today against the greenback at 0.6620. During yesterday’s local session, the unit “topped out” at US67 cents and spent most of the day trading around the 0.6650 area. In overnight action, the unit rallied sharply towards 0.6740 as U.K. and European equities moved higher but the move was short-lived and the Kiwi was sold heavily once again down to US66 cents after strong U.S. economic data supported the greenback. On the cross rates, the kiwi has lost a little bit of ground on the Aussie and opens at 0.8070.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.6510 to 0.6680

:: Majors: The Greenback opens stronger against the Euro (1.2180) and is steady against the Japanese Yen (89.90), underpinned by better-than-expected economic data. New home sales in the United States surged 15 per cent to an annual pace of 504,000 – a two-year high. In a separate report, bookings for durable goods rose last month by 2.9 per cent. Meanwhile, investors lost their nerve once again late in the session and took the Euro down towards fresh 4-year lows at 1.2166 on continuing concerns the European debt crisis will impact growth in the region.

:: Data Releases: AUD: CAPEX, Q1 CAD: No data today EUR: German CPI, May GBP: No data today JPY: Merchandise Trade Balance, April NZD: Trade Balance, April USD: GDP, Q1

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